The Untold Truth ✓

Chapter Nineteen | Scotch Argus

A L E X A N D R A | N I C O L A I D E S

TWO MONTHS LATER

SONG : Don't Give Up On Me by Andy Grammer

My fingernails dug into the palm of my hands; fear slowly crawled up my body. I stood in front of her Café, looking back at Ares who leaned against the car with his arms folded against his chest. I suddenly find myself walking towards him instead of the entrance of the Café. "I-I can't do it," I tell him.

"Yes, you can. You need answers, that is the key."

"But I don't want to, and I can't." Me and Aunt Coraline, we have not spoken in two months. It has been long. "It's been two months." I poke two fingers in his face, and he quietly chuckles and wraps his hands around them before kissing me and drawing me closer to him. His hands travel down my pregnant belly. "She hurt me."

"But what if there is a story behind what happened? Talk to her Angelos." He motions towards the door, and I smile, looking down at my bulging belly. I exhale before entering, pushing the Café door open.

The bells ring to alert her of my presence, I see Aunt Coraline rise up from one of the seats the soon she noticed me. I could tell she was nervous like me just by her shaking hands, I could sense the anxious strain in the air, and for the first time, I understood what Aunt Coraline was saying.

We do look a little alike. I inherited her dark eyes.

"Hi," is all she said.

This is my mother.

She is standing in front of me.

"You must be exhausted, that baby tiring you out?" She tries to joke, but for some reason, it did not feel the same as how she used to do it. It was more like she was trying to get rid of the tension rising in the atmosphere.

"It's not like I'm going to give her away." It came out before I can stop it, Aunt Coraline gives me a soft smile before inviting me to sit down. She slides me some herbal tea.

"I heard it was good for pregnancy, and I used to have it with you-I'm sorry." My fingers slide around the warm mug, I did not betray myself and look into her eyes. I sit there, unable to focus, my foot tapping up and down like a stupid wind-up toy. We are both knees deep in stillness. The faucet drops into the sink, each one resonating like a cymbal across the room, yet no one blinks or moves to stop it.

There is no traffic or bird sound outside, and it must be midnight—the hour when today becomes tomorrow. And, based on the quiet, I guess we will not be leaving until we solve this situation.

My phone pings, I look down to see that Ares has just gone to pick Atlas up since his car has broken down on the motorway. "I know how I must look on front of you, please, Alex, say something."

"How could you?"

"I want to tell you, but the truth hurts Alexandra."

"Just tell me, stop lying to me."

"I was fifteen when I was pregnant with you," She says, turning her head slightly. "I was in love with this guy; he saw me, noticed me, and used me. I was fifteen and he was twenty, I was stupid, and my parents were strict so I did it all behind their backs, they would not tell me what's wrong and right only what Jesus saw was wrong. He would only take me to hotels or his bedroom and-one night, he drugged me. He drugged me and he raped me for fifteen hours."

Shivers went up my spine and through my body, tears surface my eyes and I had to look away. My hands suddenly went clammy.

"Then he left me, I-I-Uhm, I went home...I went home, and I told my parents. They beat me senseless. Lisa was struggling to have a baby, her and my brother tried their hardest to get a baby, but they could not. When my mother found out about me being pregnant, she cursed me. But we never terminated because she did not believe in abortions. When I gave birth to you, it was one of the best days in my life. Holding you in my arms, having your little hands wrapped around my pinkie. My mother-she snatched you away from me and handed you to my brother."